This is an oldies entry. Sept 14, 2002

A strip of restaurants and cafes surround the outer façade of the Sunway Pyramid Shopping Mall; cute little coffee corners, posh ice cream parlour and fast food stall. Among those lies a nice quaint Italian restaurant, Piccolo Mondo. Its bright green and red light, illuminating the name, calls out to the patrons of the mall.

It was an open-air restaurant situated next to the American coffee chain giant Starbucks. The black bar was practically empty as my friends and I waltzed in. The bartender seems to occupy his time watching the football match on the television while drying shot glasses in his hands. The ceiling fans spun violently to cool its phantom patrons. Not many customers were around. Perhaps it is because it was a weeknight. There were a few red vinyl booths accompanied by mock marble tables, away from the bar. We chose one and sat down. A large picture of groceries decorated the wall near our booth. R and B music played in the background. A rather unusual ensemble since it did not quite match the atmosphere.

A short waiter, clad in his crisp white shirt, black slacks and green and white striped apron came with three bright orange, dog-eared menus. After scanning the menu, printed with words that would make a non-Italian speaker’s tongue twist, Natasha, Jivani and I decided to have the Pollo Funghi, a mushroom pizza. The beverages were rather interesting ranging from hot to cold, heavy to light, alcohol to non-alcohol. Natasha, having patronized the eatery before, ordered her usual dose of Mussolini, cranberry juice with soda. As I was trying to make up my mind, a young Caucasian mother sitting at the table behind me, was trying to pacify her hyper active toddler. As the blond child wanders about, she dissects her pizza into small bite size pieces, keeping a close eye on him. She looks tired but nevertheless still a pretty being as she placed a piece in her son’s hand. With a pizza in his hand, the boy wanders around again, leaving his mother to finish her meal. I finally ordered a Sicily Strawberry while Jivani decided to excite her taste buds with a Tuscanny Shake. The mother, with her coffee blond hair tied in a messy bun, finishes her pizza and washed it down the remainder of her Diet Pepsi. Pushing her empty plate aside, she waves at a waitress to bring the bill. The woman then attended to her child, lovingly wiping of the tomato stains on his chubby face and tiny hands.

The waitress waltzed past me. She wore the aroma of freshly baked pizza like the latest French perfume. Or in this case, an Italian perfume. The woman paid her dues and left with her son in tow. An uproar from a bigger table caught my attention, a group of young men socializing over booze and fags, proud working youths, who happily burn away their hard earned cash, to break the routine of their working lives.

Our drinks soon arrived. Mine was a milky pink colour and tastes like strawberry heaven with the first sip. Its smooth and fruity texture lingers in my mouth even after a while. We sample each other’s drink. The Mussolini was sweet and had a rather peculiar flavour that seems weird yet familiar. It was gentle on the tongue and the fizz from the soda was an extra boost. For chocolate lovers like Jivani, the Tuscanny Shake would have been an excellent choice. This drink has done justice to chocolate. While being rich and thick, it was not too sweet, preserving the actual flavour of the chocolate. As the cool drink slides down my throat, it was ecstasy.
A couple joined the big rowdy group. The guy pulled up a chair for his partner. Momentarily, our main course arrived. The aroma of melted mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce greeted us with pleasure. The cheese was stringy as we pulled the individual slices, filling the empty plates. We tucked in on our flat meal. I tried sawing the pizza into bite size pieces but without avail. As Natasha had already started eating hers with her hands, I decided to join her. No formal etiquettes needed when it comes to enjoying good pizza.

Two young Caucasian men walked in an occupied the table nearest to Starbucks. They took a look at the menu, ordered and proceeded to chat. One was a stocky brunette, the other a slim blond man with a slight beer belly. At the bar, the bartender was busy, refilling jugs with beer. The beer was for some men sitting near the bar, blocked by a large pillar decorated with plastic vines. The big group suddenly dispersed leaving nothing but an ashtray full of cigarette butts and empty beer bottles. The efficient supervisor quickly cleared the table. Ready for the next group of customers that never arrived.

Soon only one slice of pizza was left on the wooden tray, I decided to pass it to Natasha. As I was doing so, the pizza back flipped into her plate causing an outburst. I would definitely make a bad waitress. Not long after chomping down the last morsel of the main meal, the sweet tooth attacked. We decided to have dessert.
Jivani picked up the menu and ordered the Tiramisu. To her dismay, the famous cake was sold out so she had to settle for the Crespella Con Gelato, pancakes and ice cream. I settled for the Pesca Melba, the Italian version of peaches in ice cream while Natasha ordered Coppa Del Gelato. In the next booth, two teenage girls were gossiping over a plate of pasta and pizza.

The two gentlemen were still immersed in their conversation when their main course was served, a pizza each. The blond was sipping his ice lemon tea while his dining partner was drinking a dark red liquid that seems to look like wine.

After much anticipation the desserts arrived, Jivani’s was an interesting combination of two scoops of home made ice cream, wrapped in a thin pancake, decked with almonds and walnuts, a squirt of strawberry sauce, whipped cream and a cherry. Although this dessert looks heavenly, Jivani was rather disappointed, as it was not what the menu described. She was hoping to add another dose of chocolate to end her meal. She complained of not having the proper cutlery to taste hers. Natasha’s was a simple two scoops of ice cream, strawberry and vanilla, peaches and pineapples, and had a cute orange little cocktail umbrella to finish. Mine came in an ice cream glass, decked with peaches. Every mouthful was a pleasure ride for the tongue. The vanilla ice cream was rich and smooth, the sweetness of the peaches every now and then adds to the outburst of ecstasy. Scrapping the last bit of the melted wonder, I tried to savor every bit of it.

A wonderful night came to an end, tummies are filled and eyes are weary, time for the bill. Most of the other customers have left except for the group of men at the bar. Eyes fixed on the football match. I called for the bill and the pizza-smelling waitress came. To our shock the whole thing came up to RM 114. We decided to go Dutch. It was a wonderful restaurant, however, it is best to save it for special occasions.

Dear beloved Family, Friends and readers,

I will be away on a week long trip to KL to work on Men Without Shadows. Therefore, I would not be having my usual daily entries. However, there will still be new articles and poetry posted until I get back. See you all very soon.

Love Adeline

Well, one thing I know for sure is that if I ever need a bodyguard. I would know who to find!!

These are friends I met through Kung Fu Club. Which includes the Bantus Capoiera team which came from KL to help us out with MKF 2004/2005!!!

My computer has been going nuts lately, so I do not have much time to arrange this alphabetically. Remember this is a list, not a competition!!

Cheers!!
For more info on these guys, check out my Friendster profile. Thanks…

Ah Kin… Look at that smile… How can I not put him on the list, right?

One of my closest friends from USM… Elmen!! Don’t ask me why his name is like that but he is a really great guy.

Another close pal of mine. Eric Kwee… Funny and some what confused, there is never a dull moment when this monkey is around. Don’t get me started on his Shaolin skills. It is to die for… Literally!!

Ethan Kuan… Cool name huh? Well we call him Mr Cool. Basically all rounder good guy and great Wushu fighter.

Fly… We call him that so much that I do not remember his real name. Sad but true. He is a Shingu drummer and a clown.

Ho Yi… Another rare breed of the male species. He is a great friend and a very nice person to hang out and talk to.

Khong Teck is one of the best juniors I have known. He is so fun…

Lim Wei… I will let the picture do the talking

Siu Ying is basically my punching bag. He likes to ‘bully’ me but has great sense of humor and patience.

Neo in full performance outfit. Performing Shaolin during this year’s Kung Fu.

Woei Hern the first Capoeira artist that I have met.

I love this guy!!! Swee Ming is one of my best friends. He is honest, helpful and upholds his moral values. Plus he is a lot of fun to hang out with. Man, once he starts speaking his Kelantanese Malay, you are all set for trouble.

Yeong Jiann… Very funny guy… Great to hang out with though now we are all so extremely busy.

My lil’ bro, former PE and good buddy… Wye Kidt… Cute name huh? But even cuter personality.

Big Bro Chee Wai or affectionately known as Washing Wai in my books. Oh man, he is so going to kill me for this.

The Bantus Capoeira leader = Rafael…. If you watch the new 100 plus add, you’ll see him. Or at least me and my pals think it is him

This is Wei Kin. Cutie huh? He does Capoeira. But sorry gals. He is taken. Really nice guy.

Ah Wee… just like his name.. he is tons of fun…

Wow… Talk about a wink of an eye….

The Penang weekend shows of Men Without Shadows are finally over. I somehow felt that I had done a lot of things and yet feel I have not done enough. Strange but true. I give credits to Alvin, Jamie and Yu Lian for making my job absolutely blissful.

Oh well, no partying yet because most of us will be back in the studios practising, fixing the props and doing stage work again tomorrow.

Will be in KL for the next weekend. Scary…. I heard the KL crowd are tough so God Bless Us all…

I am tired and I need my shut eye. After this, I am committed to F for Female. My director, Fadz has been very supportive of my work lately. I will give it my ultimate best for her show.

Tonight will be our first show. So after over 4 months of practise, it will be performed.

I have spent the last few days being worried about this. I am confused and tired at the moment. Will the audience like it? Will I mess up? Did we miss something?

Heck, I am just in the stage and props management team. Can you imagine what the actors are going through??

These are just pictures of me with the cast individually, about 2 weeks before the show.

Pengiran used to be my student when I was doing a stint in PFS as a sub. Now look at him, all grown up… And still calling me teacher. Haiyo!!! I feel very… old. I know that it has been over 4 years since I left the teaching profession. But I might soon be stepping into that field again. Oh well, watch this space!

This is Shamila. She plays Lucie, the solo female role in the play. You just got to love her. She is excellent, smart and talented.

It has been a while since I worked with Kenneth. So this is great!!!

Ini Abang Philip. Dalam cerita ni kan… Dia main watak Tentera… Eeeeeeee Takutnye…

Yu Lian is co managing the stage and props with me. Though I nicknamed him my apprentice. I still have much to learn from him. He does a lot of work and is very dedicated to it. Did you know that I am exactly 2 years older than him? Same birth date 26 July.

Izwan is a clown. Izwan is an actor. Izwan is a vocalist. Izwan is a guitarist. Izwan is basically a whole entertainment system stuffed into a human body. Talk about fun, huh?

Well…. Umm… This is Lim Yao-Han…. His phone number is …. his own… so if you wanna contact him. Come for the show so you can get it personally.

These are snapshots of the scenes in this play.

Sorbier back from torture.

Henri gets to smoke.

Love in times of war – Lucie and Jean reunited.

Henri gets tortured.

Who?

Cast
Director: Jayaram Menon
Producer & character Canoris: Himanshu Bhatt
Sorbier: Lim Yao-Han
Henri: Noor Izwan Mohamad
Lucie: Shamila Ariffin
Francoise: Pengiran Syazwan
Jean: Kenneth Rodrigues
Landrieu: Philip Yeoh
Clochet: Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
Pellerin: Henry Loh
Militiaman: Raymond Tang

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